Friday, December 3, 2010

Moveon.org produced the above ad urging President Obama not to comply with the Republican demand for the extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Such an extension will add $700 billion to the nation's debt over 10 years. The ad comes as Democrats express frustration over indications that President Obama is preparing to accede in negotiations with the Republicans:

...the sense within both parties was that Democrats were essentially negotiating the terms of their major retreat on an issue that they once considered a slam-dunk on both substantive and political levels.Senior Senate Republican aides said that an extension of all the income tax cuts was a foregone conclusion, but that a deal on jobless aid was possible if Democrats agreed to cover the cost. Democrats expressed indignation that Republicans were insisting on finding spending cuts to offset the unemployment benefits while being perfectly willing to add to the national debt the $700 billion cost of continuing the tax cuts on the highest incomes for the next decade.“This is so grossly unfair,” the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said in a floor speech urging passage of the so-called middle-class tax package....Congressional Democrats expressed deepening frustration with the White House, which they said had made numerous missteps that gave Republicans the upper hand. Some Democratic aides said that Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had been asked to attend a caucus meeting to defend the White House negotiating stance. A spokesman said Mr. Biden had a previous commitment.Congressional Democrats also voiced worries that the administration was ready to give in quickly to Republican demands, in a bid to preserve time on the Senate calendar for ratification of an arms control treaty with Russia known as New Start.